In Search of Paradise
by The Book of Erised
Summary: They were looking for a hiding place. Instead, they found each other.


_Pilgrim, how you journey  
><em>_On the road you chose  
><em>_To find out why the winds die  
><em>_And where the stories go._

_All days come from one day__  
><em>_That much you must know,__  
><em>_You cannot change what's over__  
><em>_But only where you go._

* * *

><p><em>Run.<em>

That's all she could bring herself to think as she pumped her legs harder. She was scared that if she let herself think of anything else she would trip, and it would be all over. They would catch her. She would be done for. No ounce of magic she could muster would be able to save her, and then what would she do? All of his efforts to save her would have been in vain. And she would not _ –could not - _ let that happen.

So she ran.

"Hurry! She's getting away!"

Feeling her heart beat jump start yet again, she willed herself to move faster, weaving under branches and jumping over roots. She slipped a hand into the fold of her gown and pulled out an intricately carved stick and pointed it behind her in the direction of her pursuers. She heard a bang and a yell, and allowed herself to feel relief for a brief moment before reminding herself that if she let her guard down for one minute, anything could happen.

On a whim, she ducked behind a tree and listened to the sound of hooves pounding past her. She waited for a few seconds to make sure they were gone before she let out a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding. Moving as quietly as she could, she started to head back the way she had been chased. If she remembered correctly, there was a well-hidden clearing nearby that she could rest in.

As she walked, she allowed her mind to wander. She soon realized that that wasn't the greatest of ideas; almost immediately, an image of a kind-faced man flooded her thoughts and a pained feeling stabbed at her heart.

"_Rowena- run!"_

She could feel her throat closing up, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall. Rowena had promised him. She'd_ promised _that she would be strong and save herself, so she refused to let herself cry. Wiping her eyes, she continued walking, forbidding her mind to think of him anymore for the time being.

* * *

><p>"Godric, will you stop flinging that bloody sword around? You're going to poke your and, more importantly, <em>my<em>, eye out!"

"Oh, relax Sali! I'm not going to hurt anyone."

Salazar clenched his jaw. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Godric gave a smug smile. "A million times but I enjoy bugging you. Your face does this weird thing when you get mad, which is quite amusing."

"Oh, you're going to wish you hadn't said." He stopped for a moment. "What's wrong with my face?"

"Oh, nothing," Godric replied. He then let out a long sigh. "Will this stupid forest ever end? I feel as if we've been walking in circles!"

Salazar, forgetting the discussion they were having about his lovely face, said, "It's a forest, Godric. It always seems like that. A clearing or something will show up soon enough."

And, as if by magic, they saw a clearing in the distance. Godric and Salazar looked at each other. "Sali, how did you do that?"

"Godric, stop calling me that!" He then brought out what others would think was a simple stick of wood.

"You want to duel, huh?" Godric smirked, putting his sword in an alcove and taking out a similar looking stick.

"Oh, no, not duel, Godric, hurt."

* * *

><p>Helga was not very fond of the forest. There were too many sounds, and even when there weren't any sounds it was too quiet. The creepy kind of quiet that holds creepy things behind it. And to make things worse, everything was so…<em>pokey.<em> She couldn't take five steps without having to push past a branch or disentangle a bush from her skirt. Her parents could have at least warned her about wearing something more fitting. Like trousers. She could really use a good pair of trousers.

She took a deep breath and let it out. All of this negative thinking just would not do. Sure, this was a bit of a negative point in her life, but still. It wouldn't hurt to try and see the bright side of things. Like bunnies. And…fresh air. And no one was around to tell her to watch her manners or to walk straight, because it's a bit impossible to walk straight when you're loaded down by a dress and falling over rocks.

"Where am I anyway?" She hadn't really put any thought into where she was going; she just knew she had to go, so she went. And that was that. But now that she was in the noisy, pokey, bunny infested forest, she didn't know what to do. There wasn't much a person could do in a forest except walk and look at trees, so Helga was running on luck.

And it was pure luck that brought her to a very beautiful clearing. The only problem was that she would have to push through an opening of particularly prickly looking trees.

"Of course," she huffed, and made her way to the clearing, pulling out a long, thin piece of wood as she went. Hopefully that would make her job easier.

* * *

><p>There was a tense moment as four people looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Each had been running from the same thing, other people who want to hurt them.<p>

Out of a common instinct, all four strangers held out their sticks, yelling, "_Stupefy!"_ They all missed, except Helga, who hit Godric right on the chest. That's when they all realized something. They were all wizards.

Salazar looked down at Godric, suddenly laughing very hard. "That's what you get for calling me Sali."

Helga and Rowena ran forward. "Oh my goodness is he all right? I didn't know he was a wizard!" Helga exclaimed, kneeling down next to Godric.

"Don't fuss so much. The spell doesn't _actually_ hurt anyone. Here," Rowena said, kneeling down next to Helga. "_Rennervate."_

Godric got up with a start, coughing a little. "What happened?" He then noticed the two beautiful girls looking down at him and smiled. "Did I die and come to heaven?"

Salazar rolled his eyes. "No, you idiot, the Blondie knocked you out. And Princess here woke you up."

"Um, excuse me, I have a name," Rowena said.

"Yeah, and don't call me Blondie!" Helga added, equally angered.

"So, what are your names, ladies?" Godric said as he got up, dusting off the dirt off his jacket.

But before they could answer, they heard the familiar sound of horse hooves and people talking. "Ugh, those ignorant Muggles," Rowena said.

"We should put up some defense spells, so that they don't see us," Salazar suggested.

So they four started to recite the spells they knew, walking around the perimeter of the clearing. By the time they were done, the Muggles simply walked right past them, not noticing or hearing them in the slightest.

"Whew, that was close!" Helga said, sitting down on the ground. She looked up at the others, who awkwardly stood around. "Well, sit down!"

Salazar shot her look before sitting across from her. Godric followed suit and after a moment, Rowena joined them.

"So," Helga said happily, "What brings all of you into the Forest of… what forest is this anyway?"

"The Forest of Dyn," Rowena said simply.

"Forest of Dyn? What?" Godric asked. "This bunch of overgrown shrubs has a name?" Rowena gave him a disbelieving look.

"Well of _course_ it has a name. Everything has a name. How else would you know where you are?" she said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, fine, Princess, it has a name. Sheesh," Godric muttered.

"My name is _no-"_

"Alright!" Helga cut her off hurriedly before she could finish. "That's a perfect place to start: names. I'm Helga. Helga Hufflepuff." There was a short silence before Salazar snorted derisively.

"_Hufflepuff?" _he said, not even trying to hide the humor in his tone. "What in the world is a Hufflepuff?"

"Well, it's…I mean…It's my name I like it!" Helga said, a soft blush evident on her cheeks. "Yours can't be that much better."

"Yeah, _Sali_, your name is wonderful." Godric dodged the smack sent his way. Salazar cleared his throat before speaking again.

"My name is Salazar Slytherin." Another silence. "What?"

"Nothing," Godric said with a smirk. "I'm Godric Gryffindor, and clearly my name tops all of yours."

"Well, wait, you don't even know my name," Rowena interrupted. They all looked at her expectantly. "Rowena Ravenclaw."

They all snickered.

"Oh please, how is that better?" Godric asked.

"Yeah. You're named after a bloody bird appendage." Salazar couldn't even get the words out before he started laughing. Soon enough Godric was laughing along with him, and the sound pleased Helga so much that she couldn't help but join in.

"But…There's nothing wrong with my name!" Rowena protested.

"Haha, I'm sorry, but it really is funny," Helga said between giggles. Rowena crossed her arms and watched sourly as they kept laughing.

"Really, it's not _that_ funny," Rowena said after a moment.

"Oh, it's hilarious, Princess," Godric gasped. Rowena opened her mouth to protest when she was cut off again, this time by Salazar.

"Just let him call you his little pet name. It's better than laughing every time, don't you think?" he said, raising a condescending eyebrow at her.

"It was your pet name," Rowena snapped, but she didn't say anything further.

Eventually the laughter died down, and Helga spoke up again.

"So, now that names are out of the way, what now?" she asked thoughtfully. She looked leaned back and looked to the cloudy sky, almost as if she expected the answers to come down in the form of rain.

"Why don't we get to know each other?" Godric suggested. "If we're going to be spending time together from now on, then we should at le-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on." Salazar held up a hand to halt Godric's speech. "What do you mean _'_spending time together from now on?'" Godric shrugged.

"I just guessed that since we're all wizards, and we looked to be about the same age, I just figured we'd stick together."

"Well don't be so quick to assume things. We don't even know who they are. They could be criminals. Murders, even," Salazar said. Then, sarcastically, "No offense." Rowena pursed her lips.

"Oh come on Sali-"

"Don't _call _me that."

"-what could they do? They're only girls."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"They're our age. How much trouble could they be? I mean, they seem to be running from the same thing as us: Muggles who want our blood." Godric finished as if Salazar and Rowena hadn't even spoken. Salazar didn't seem to have a good answer for him, so Godric smiled. "Great! It's settled then. We're traveling companions!"

Helga beamed back at him, while Rowena and Salazar didn't look so pleased.

"Yay!" Helga exclaimed. "So I'll start then!" and she began to speak, seemingly content with the fact that Godric seemed to be the only one happy to listen. At least Rowena was being polite; Salazar didn't even seem to be putting in a great effort.

"So. I'm Helga Huf... I'm Helga, and I'm eighteen years old. I live with my papa, mama, and my older sister named Bethany. Or at least, I used to." Helga became quieter and her face fell at this last comment. "They made me run away a few days ago. I don't really know how long it's been…"

"Why?" Rowena asked, seeming almost genuinely interested. Helga shrugged.

"I don't know. Well, I think I do. It was a normal day like any other. Bethany and I were just taking a stroll in our town when we heard a bit of a commotion. It's not really unusual, where I'm from, because there's always _something_ going on - music or performers or something – so we didn't make much of it. That day was different though. In the town square there was a dispute going on, but we couldn't tell what it was over. I wanted to get closer and see what it was, but Bethany insisted we go home. She nearly begged me, so I had to listen to her.

"When we did get back home, Bethany explained to Mama and Papa. You could've told them that we were all about to die, that's how distressed they looked. Then they looked at each other, and it was like they already knew what was going on. Like they'd agreed on everything beforehand. Without even _telling_ _me. _Looking back on it, even Bethany knew. They practically planned out my life and I didn't have clue about anything. I didn't even know they were…that the townspeople were…" Helga's voice trailed off, and tears looked like they would start pouring down her face any minute. Rowena waited an awkward moment before she scooted over to her side and pulled Helga gently into her arms.

"Shh, sweetie, it's…it's alright. I know, it's bad, but you'll be okay." Rowena murmured calmly as she stroked the distressed girl's hair. "We'll protect you. We'll protect each other. Right?" She looked to the two boys, namely Salazar, who looked like he was going to say something rude until he noticed the look in Rowena's eye.

"Whatever," he muttered begrudgingly.

"What he means to say is that he's completely for it. Isn't that right Sali?" Godric said cheerily. He elbowed Salazar in the side in an effort to earn a response. Salazar swatted at the offending limb, and then sighed.

"Fine then. We'll stick together."

"Really?" Helga sniffed.

"Yes, yes," Salazar said dismissively. Helga's smile returned in full at that, and it was almost as if it had never left her face. Salazar pulled a face before whispering to Godric,

"Do you think she did that on purpose? The crying thing?"

"I don't know, but you've got to admit, she's like a light," Godric whispered back, clearly amused. "Cute, too." Salazar looked Helga over –taking in everything from her dirty blonde hair and freckles to her all too innocent brown eyes and expensive looking dress – before deciding that he didn't want to care enough to be able to be unhinged by this girl and her fickle tears. He straightened up.

"But let's get one thing straight," he started, and his tone made it clear that if they didn't get it straight, there would be hell to pay, "Don't expect me to follow suit with this whole sit in a circle and share stories like little children. We may be in this together _for now,_ but that doesn't mean we're sticking to each other like bark on trees for the rest of our lives. So I don't need to know your pasts, and you don't need to know mine. Understood?" When nobody gave an answer, Salazar stood up. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Where are you going?" Helga asked as he walked to one of the openings in the clearing. "You can't just leave – what if the men come back?"

"Don't be silly, we need fire wood, don't we?" And with that, Salazar left the three of them alone.

"I wonder if he's aware that we're surrounded by trees," Rowena said as she watched him stalk off.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's just cranky, is all. He'll loosen up." Godric said with a grin. "So who wants to go next?" He looked pointedly at Rowena.

"What? Oh, no! No no no no no! I don't…I would rather not talk about it…" Rowena said quickly. Her frayed skirt was now very interesting to look at.

"Okay, then I'll go," Godric said, and Rowena got the distinct feeling that he just wanted to talk about himself, and that he was only asking who wanted to go out of common courtesy.

"I come from a place not too, _too_ far from here," Godric began, almost wistfully. It's a small little town, but it was enough. I lived with my parents, a witch and a wizard, and life was…I suppose it was a bit boring."

"Boring?" Helga piped up, "How could you be bored? You were surrounded by magic, weren't you? That can't have been boring at all."

"It was, believe me. My parents are so strict, and so conservative; they wouldn't let me do anything I wanted. They'd hardly let me leave the house without knowing where I was going and who I was out with." Then, as if he were sharing a secret, Godric leaned in and whispered behind his hand, "I think they thought I'd be spending time with the girls in the neighboring house."

"Really?" Helga said. She was clearly interested since Godric's story was making for a more interesting one than hers was, but Rowena looked a little disapproving.

"Yup," Godric said leaning back, and the spark in eyes seemed to dull a little. "God forbid their son does anything to wreck their family image. But they were wrong. Those girls were boring. All they wanted to do was sit around and sew. Or talk about food, which isn't bad when you think about it, but they could even make food boring. I don't what my parents were worried about. I wasn't even interesting in women. I would have spent my time out adventuring, or traveling if they had let me, but they were so convinced that I would go out and hurt myself and inconvenience them, or go and do something stupid that would reflect poorly on them." Godric unsheathed his sword and ran his finger idly along the side, making sure not to push too hard.

"You see, my family is big on honor, but I'd bet you anything that they don't know what true honor is."

Rowena and Helga sat and watched him in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. Where was he going with this? Helga had gotten straight to the point, avoiding all aspects of her personal life at all, save for the name of her sister, and Salazar had just left after practically threatening them all if they tried to make him talk about anything. Yet here Godric was, telling them about his family life and his boring female neighbors without a worry in the world. What did that have to do with anything? He had mentioned that they were all running from the same thing. What did his boring life have to do with crazy Muggles with no sense of imagination?

"So, one day, I just couldn't take it. I got too bored, so I ran away," Godric said simply, as if he were saying that the sky was blue.

Oh. That was it.

"Wait," Rowena said, holding up a hand a furrowing her eyebrows, "you mean to tell us that you just left home one day because you were _bored?"_

"Yeah, pretty much. Huh, your way was much simpler, why didn't I think of that?" Godric said, tapping his chin.

"Are you crazy? Why would you do that? You're just a kid!" Rowena frowned. "How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen." Godric answered easily. "More or less. How old are you?"

"Don't ask a woman her age, it's rude," Rowena replied, adopting that tone she had whenever she was stating facts.

"I think it's only fair," Godric said, but he didn't seem at all upset. "You already know so much about us; what's one fact about you?" If anything, Godric sounded like he was trying to gain a reaction from her.

Rowena looked as if she were about to scold him. It wasn't her fault if they were loose lipped. Then again, she couldn't argue his logic. It really was only fair. And age was just a number, what harm could it do?

"I'm twenty. More or less," Rowena muttered.

"Oh, you're the same age as Sali," Godric said thoughtfully. "Almost as bossy as him too."

"I beg your pardon!"

"But really, Godric, why would you run away? Even if it was boring, family is family. Boredom isn't a real reason," Helga said.

"Because he's an idiot."

The three bodies huddled together jumped at the sound of the deep, patronizing voice.

"Sali, " Godric said, disregarding the crack at his judgment, "You're back!"

Salazar made a low noise in the back of his throat as he dropped the pile of sticks in his arms. Taking out his wand, he pointed it at the sticks. With a slight flick of his wrist, the wood rearranged itself into a more stable fashion, and with another flick they ignited into flames. The clearing came to life with shadows as Rowena, Helga, and Godric glanced around.

"Huh, I hadn't even realized it had gotten dark out," Helga said. Unconsciously, she moved closer to Rowena.

"Yeah, me neither," said Godric.

"Well maybe you should pay more attention," Salazar muttered. Helga stared at him. "What?," he snapped.

"Nothing," Helga said. "I'm just wondering how someone like you ended up with someone as hyper as energetic as Godric."

"And what are you trying to imply by that? Someone like me?" Salazar asked lowly, his eyes narrowing. Helga scooted even closer to Rowena.

"N-nothing!" she insisted. "You're just so…"

"Mean? Cold? Haughty? Self-righteous?" Godric offered.

"No," Helga said slowly as Salazar redirected his stare at Godric. "He's just… I dunno. I can't put a finger on it. You two are just exact opposites."

"Well believe me, Blondie, it wasn't my choice. This kid just started following me," Salazar said with a thumb tossed in Godric's general direction.

"Oh, come off it Sali, you enjoyed my company, " Godric said. Salazar said nothing.

"Well," Rowena yawned, stretching her arms over her head. Really, she was hoping to stave off any oncoming arguments – mostly on Salazar's part – but then she realized that the day really had been tiring. "I think we should get to sleep, and then eat tomorrow morning. Well, find something to eat…"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Godric said with mock seriousness, his back straight and hand positioned in a salute. Rowena rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled at her lips.

"Just go to sleep."

The four of them slowly made their way to separate parts of the clearing, and Salazar made it a point to face the outer wall of trees.

"Goodnight everyone!" Helga called out in her cheery, albeit tired voice, and three sleepy voices echoed her words.

"Goodnight."

* * *

><p><em>Pilgrim, in your journey<em>  
><em>You may travel far,<em>  
><em>For pilgrim it's a long way<em>  
><em>To find out who you are...<em>

_Pilgrim, it's a long way_  
><em>To find out who you are...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Alright everybody! Thank you for reading the first chapter of _In Search of Paradise._ We really hope you enjoyed it:)**

**We'd like to clear some things up. **

**1. This story is going to be run and edited by two people: Pepper and Sage. For the record, Pepper is the one who usually runs this blog; nearly everything is hers. And Sage is her friend an co-author.**

**2. We both contributed to this chapter, but from here on out I think we'll stick to planning each chapter, but we'll write them separately so that we can keep the flow as consistent as possible. **

**3. We'll be adding author's notes at the end to keep things straight, and clarify things along the way.**

**So we'd really appreciate if you would bear with us here and keep reading, because we have a really good idea of where we want this to go. Or, maybe you don't even need any encouragement because you really, really liked it and can't wait for our next chapter?**

**:D**

**Eh, maybe it's wishful thinking. But please, read (which I'm assuming you've done if you're now reading this author's note. Or maybe you don't even _read_authors' notes.) and review and subscribe because there's more to come!**

**-Pepper and Sage**


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